Advocacy Information

News:

View a Guide to Medicaid Waivers from AADD

View the Katie Beckett Informational Manual

Details on the Katie Beckett Eligibility Criteria. Read document

Read more about Heidi J. Moore's (former Executive Director and Advocacy Director for the DSAA) presentation given to DSAA members on March 24, 2007 entitled: Medicaid Waivers and Advocacy....Your Child Needs YOU!.

UNLOCK THE WAITING LISTS! DSAA has been a devoted supporter of Georgia’s Unlock the Waiting List Campaign. This effort is designed to educate the public and change public policy. Please visit the Unlock the Waiting list website.

Their mission is to reduce and/or eliminate waiting lists for thousands of people with disabilities, the frail elderly, and their families who need home and community-based services. There have been many Town Hall meetings across the state of Georgia to discuss and provide information about services for people with disabilities. Dr. Steve Hall, Director of the Office of Developmental Disabilities, The Division of MH/DD/AD, and Georgia Department of Human Resources has provided insight and clarification on what changes need to happen to better serve Georgians with disabilities. The Governor has presented his budget to the General Assembly, cutting the DHR's proposal by 500 services and funding 1,500 new MRWP services with $12.2M to Unlock Georgia's waiting lists for disability supports. DHR and DCH’s multiple year funding plan to Unlock Georgia’s waiting lists for disability calls for 2,000 Mental Retardation Waiver Program (MRWP) services for the FY08 budget. DSAA sponsored the December 5, 2006 Town Hall Meeting in Roswell, GA. View the Guide to the new waiver discussed at these Town hall meetings.

For more information about the Unlock the Waiting List Campaign contact:
Dave Blanchard
Director of Public Policy
dave@aadd.org
404-881-9777 ext. 215

Unlock the Waiting Lists! Need your Help!
Everyone's help is needed to support the additional 2,000 MRWP waiver slots for this fiscal year (currently the Governor is proposing a reduction to 1,500 slots and not DHR's recommended 2,000). Please go the following website to find out more information and how you can help: www.unlockthewaitinglists.com/actionalert.html

Governor Perdue Vetoes HB 549
Below is the Governor’s response to why he vetoed this bill:
HB 549 seeks to amend prior authorization requirements for recipients of Medicaid funded services. The proposed changes inadvertently conflict with federal mandates on Medicaid services. Specifically, HB 549 would restrict the States ability to conduct appropriate prior authorization review as required by federal regulations (CFR 433.15(b)(7)). Federal regulators have also indicated an objection to the establishment of different standards for recipients based on a general categorization of their condition rather than based on an individuals specific medical needs and likely rehabilitation and recovery (CFR 440.240). For these reasons, federal approval of the changes mandated by HB 549 is not expected. The timeliness of these services, particularly to this constituency is important. I am, therefore, directing the Department of Community Health to continue its efforts to provide for a more streamlined preauthorization process so as not to unduly burden the practitioners and patients this bill seeks to assist.

Even though the Governor vetoed HB 549, effective July, 2007, The Dept of Community Health is changing the procedures for prior authorizations for therapy............ If you would like to see all the updates, please click here and look at page 11+ regarding Prior Authorizations:

SB 10 Passes!
On May 18, 2007 Governor Perdue signed into law Senate Bill-10 which allows eligible students to transfer to another public school or to use a state-funded scholarship to attend an approved private school. This new state law goes into effect immediately and will be implemented beginning the 2007-2008 school year. Parents can find out more about the program or apply for private school scholarship, by visiting the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) Georgia Special Needs Scholarship website at http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/sb10.aspx